Learning to Fly
by PenguinsWillReignSupreme
Summary: A Percy/Audrey story for Kyota-Chan's Aboard the Loveboat Challenge. It tells the story of their relationship right from start.
1. Exclusive

This is in response to Kyota-Chan's Aboard the Love Boat Challenge. I'll warn people now, I've got MAJOR stress coming up with A-Levels, so updates wil be rare. Although saying that, I do write better in stressed moments, so you never know...

Very short first chapter. The next one will be longer, I promise.

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_Learning to Fly_

Chapter One: Exclusive

**Summer 1995**

Percy Weasley was not a happy man. First of all, his family had refused to be happy for him when he got promoted, which was quite ridiculous since nobody else in the family had done that well when they were his age, nor were the younger ones likely to. Then his girlfriend dumped him to go and live a new life working with Winged Horses and Hippogriffs in New Zealand, and now that stupid girl from the Pest Board, Ruth, had tripped over and sent all of his neatly stacked papers flying all over the office, knocking them out of alphabetical order. Her silly, high-pitched giggle and pathetic apology rang through his ears as she tiptoed through the mess to the Minister's door, only to forget what she wanted and skip off again.

He got down on his hands and knees and began to pile the papers up again. Five hours straight he'd spent on filing them. If she came past again, he might have to kill her. He spotted a sheet sticking out from under a bookshelf, and crawled quickly over to it. As he did so, his glasses slipped off the end of his nose. He groaned as there was a knock on the door, "Come in!" he growled, shuffling backwards. There was a crunch and he grimaced, "Perfect," he bent over and scooped up the two pieces of cracked glass.

"Don't, you'll cut yourself. Let me," a woman's voice said. She bent down and tapped the broken glasses with the tip of her wand, making them jump back into the frame, "There we go."

"Thank you, miss," he muttered, pushing them onto his nose and looking across at the woman. He started. She wasn't quite what he'd expected. She was young and had short, black hair with pink streaks through it, and a purple quill stuck behind her ear, "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, I was wondering if I could speak to the Minister?" she said, standing up. Percy picked up the piece of parchment and scrambled to his feet as well, "I was told to ask you. Mr Weasley, yes?"

"Er, yes. Can I take your name?" he shuffled to the desk.

"Audrey Ablett."

"Right. Well, the Minister is rather busy today. Which department are you from?"

"No department, I'm from Witch Weekly. We'd like to do an exclusive with Mr Fudge."

"No way," Percy snapped, "No interviews," Audrey's face fell and his tone softened, "I'm sorry. I've been under strict instruction. Ernie shouldn't even have let you down here. What's the interview going to be about?"

"It's not to do with what happened with Dumbledore and Harry Potter, honestly. It's about the possibility of a competition for our readers, and to discuss a few other rumours that are abound. You know, Mr Fudge has quite a lot of fans from our magazine," Audrey explained with a smirk. Percy thought about for a second. This girl looked honest enough, and certainly the type of girl that would work for Witch Weekly, he added, looking at the high wedges she had on her feet. He nodded.

"Right, well, he's free for twenty minutes, but that's all. Then I want you to leave and not come back, and tell your colleagues that too. It's a busy time at the moment, we can't have all these reporters in here."

"Thank you. You're a star," she smiled broadly and walked to the door, "Through here?" she pointed with a purple talon. He stood up and nodded again.

"Let me," he knocked abruptly and at the shout from inside, opened the door, "Minister, there's a reporter here to see you from Witch Weekly."

"I don't want interviews, I've told you Weasley," Fudge said, not even lifting his head from the mountain of work on his desk.

"Sir, this has been booked for weeks. Way before Potter's idiotic rumours came about," Percy lied as he sensed Audrey's disappointment behind him, "I can tell her to leave, if you like." The Minister's head rose slightly, looking at his assistant from over his glasses.

"Very well. Twenty minutes only, mind. I've got that meeting with the Swiss Minister at quarter to, and you know what he's like for punctuality, Weasley," Fudge conceded, "In you come, girl," Audrey smiled and whispered a thank you to Percy as she sidled past him to sit in one of the comfy leather sears opposite the Minister's hard oak desk. Percy watched the back of her head as she pulled the quill out from behind her ear and only the soft 'ahem' of his boss alerted him to the fact that he was leaning on the door frame, in serious danger of dribbling all down his best work robes. He apologised swiftly, stepping back out of the room and closing the door. As he fell back onto his knees to pick up a piece of paper that had been crushed into a corner, he smiled. Maybe this day wouldn't be as bad as he'd thought after all.

Hm...still not keen on this chapter. I'll probably go back to it one day and lengthen it a bit.  
The next two are much, much better I think.

x


	2. Lace

Title: Learning to Fly

**CHAPTER TWO: Lace**

As much as he admired and respected the Minister, sometimes Percy just hated him. He'd been getting ready for Audrey to emerge at quarter to four, just as the Swiss Minister rolled up in a swirl of blue and silver, when Cornelius Fudge strolled out of his office and invited the man inside. Percy waited a few minutes; maybe Audrey wanted a word with the other Minister too. However, after half an hour, he conceded that the Minister had probably offered her his fireplace to Floo back to the Witch Weekly editorial house where she'd forget about the gawky, clumsy assistant and get back to writing articles about which type of lace is best to personalise your dress robes.

He fidgeted and twitched for another hour before Fudge walked out of the door looking oddly satisfied, "Right, Weasley, you can go. We've got a busy day tomorrow and I want you on top form," Percy nodded and screwed the cap on his inkbottle. He pulled his cloak around his shoulders and gave a sharp goodbye to the Minister, who nodded in response and turned back into his office.

The redheaded man walked swiftly up to the lift, alongside a small bearded fellow holding a lead with what looked like a mixture between a Great Dane and a goldfish. He nodded to Percy, who nodded back stiffly and pressed himself up against the opposite wall as they rose. When they reached the Atrium, Percy was careful to get out before the odd fish/dog _thing, _worried about what it could do to him if he didn't.

Once he reached the queues for the fireplaces he relaxed. Ever since he'd left home, he'd been worried that he was going to bump into his father, not that he'd be scared, but…well, it would be awkward and awkwardness wasn't something Percy was particularly adept at dealing with. He hopped into the fireplace, feeling like a spinning top as the green flames took him to his destination.

He stepped out into the bustling noise of 'The Leaky Cauldron'. A couple of people he knew from work shouted words of welcome, which he feebly returned as he walked up to the bar that Tom was dusting down, "Mr Weasley. What can I get for you?" he asked, smiling toothlessly at his customer. Percy, trying not to look too disgusted at the sight, sat down on one of the stools.

"Nothing today, Tom. I was just wondering if you know where the offices of Witch Weekly are. I've never seen them here before," he asked, trying not to sound too eager or excited. Tom nodded.

"Understandable. They're well hidden away. Go down past Ollivander's, there's the old Post Office on your left and just after that there's a door set back from the road. It's just there. They started off in that building you know, and even now they're much bigger than they were when they first began, they've never moved from it. You'd best hurry, Percy lad. They shut up shop to the public at half past," Tom explained, before turning around and starting to twitter to himself about the current editor, Mallory Figheart, who he used to be close to before she married that posh fellow from Ireland.

Percy thanked him quietly, rolling his eyes as he hopped off the stool and out to the back of the pub. He tapped the brick with his wand and the archway formed ahead of him. The usual hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley was dying down now, with several shops pulling across the shutters and putting the Closed signs up. He hurried past women with baskets full of frogs eyes and bat fangs, men clutching new broomsticks or packages of books. He nearly ran straight into an old woman coming out of Ollivanders, who looked beadily at him as he spun out of the way throwing apologies and excuses at her. He slowed down as he spotted the rotting blue sign of what used to be Diagon Alley's Post Office. He remembered his mother telling him that it was burnt down in the first war and nobody had ever bothered to fix it, deeming it too badly damaged. There it was. A little red door, set back a few yards from the main road: hidden away enough for one to walk straight past, but visible enough that if you were looking for it, you could find it with ease. A sign was attached to the door, with fancy writing:

_Witch Weekly Offices._

_Please ring the bell._

Excitedly, Percy reached out and pulled the string hanging down the side of the door. There were footsteps, heels clicking on a stone floor, and the door swung open to reveal a fairly old woman, with greying hair scraped back into a loose bun and glasses perched on the top of her head, "Can I help you?" she snapped, in the most unhelpful tone Percy had ever heard.

"I'm looking for one of your reporters. Audrey Ablett," he croaked, feeling about six years old. The woman looked down at him from the step, her eyes scanning him up and down.

"Hmph. You'd better come in. I'll fetch somebody to take you up to her room," she said, letting him slip inside. The woman let the door slam shut behind him, sending the redhead flying into the air, "Jumpy, aren't we?" she noted with a small snigger. She gave him one last, disapproving glance before vanishing through another door and reappearing with a woman in her early twenties, with black hair tied up in a ponytail, "Miriam will take you up to Audrey's office," the woman drawled, shuffling behind her desk and sitting down in a soft armchair. Percy nodded, thanked the woman in almost a whisper, then followed the girl up a set of rickety stairs.

"So, Audrey, eh? She's only been here a month. Fresh out of Hogwarts, got fast-tracked up to junior reporter. What do you want her for?" the girl turned her head and asked him with a glare beady enough to challenge the odd receptionist. Percy stumbled slightly.

"I…I…she came into the Ministry today and…it's none of your business," he stammered, blushing post-box red. The woman looked up over her glasses at him but didn't query him further. They reached a narrow landing after what seemed like forever, and Miriam stepped aside to let him onto the first floor.

"Down there," she pointed down the hallway, "Fourth door on your left. It's got her name on anyway." She cast him one last glance before turning, her lilac robes swirling around her, and retreating down the stairs.

Percy stood at the top of the stairs in shock for a second. Of the two women he had met so far, both had been bad-tempered old bats. Well, the Miriam girl wasn't old, but she certainly had the mentality of a bitter old spinster who lived with twenty cats and two birds, singing to herself as she planned how to capture the schoolboys who threw balls into her garden. He shook himself out of his private rant at the staff and turned back to what he was meant to be doing: worrying about everybody else that worked here. Maybe Audrey wasn't really as nice as she'd made herself out to be; maybe it was a front to get the interview…what if it wasn't all about Fudge? What if the interview really had been about Potter and Dumbledore? Mr Fudge would sack him in an instant then he'd have to go grovelling back to his parents ashamedly..._Pull yourself together Percy,_ he thought, _Just go in there and talk to her. _He nodded confidently, puffed his chest out and walked firmly up to the fourth door on the left. Like every other door, it was painted vibrant pink. He knocked before he knew what he was doing and a loud, "COME IN!" echoed out of the room. He pushed the door open and there she was. Dressed in the same lilac robes as the other two women, only with an image of a quill sewn on, she was writing with the same purple quill as before on a piece of parchment. She seemed to ignore his presence, not even lifting her eyes. He looked around, waiting for a sign of recognition. He coughed and she shot out of her seat. Her eyes rose from the desk to the stranger in her room.

"Mr Weasley?" she said, slightly shocked that this strange man was stood in the centre of her office, nervously wringing his hands. He nodded shyly, "Come in, come in," she stood up, offering a wooden chair to him, "Sorry, I'm only a junior. I haven't worked myself up to those posh leather seats that you lot in the Ministry have. What can I do you for?" she asked, pushing her writing onto the floor and shoving the quill messily behind her ear.

"I just…What was that you were writing about?" he said, trying to divert from the answer that he didn't have. Audrey frowned, but nonetheless reached down and pulled up the masses of parchment she had laid down by her feet.

"Which type of robe is best to accentuate your body shape. You know, the really important stuff," she said, picking up a picture of a fat woman holding up two robes and looking confused, "Like I know whether blue suits hourglasses or apples? One day, I'm going to get out of here and do the proper stuff. Even working for the Quibbler would be better than this," Percy chuckled and Audrey, who had previously been looking sternly at the mess on her desk, looked up and let a giggle escape as well, "Okay, maybe not."

"Hm, well old Xeno Lovegood lives not far away from where I grew up. You never know, if I put in a good word…" Percy trailed off as the girl's face was awash with a mix between fear and amusement.

"Oh, don't! He'd have me writing about how werewolves wear skimpy, lacey nightgowns every half moon because that's the night that the Aurors' pet Turkish rabbits are let loose and if they were to meet, it would cause the whole universe to implode, and only the lace made by Hinky-Punks would repel the bunnies from the wolves," Audrey giggled. Percy looked at her, slightly bemused, "Oh, I'm rambling."

"No, no, it was amusing. It just sounds so well rehearsed…"

"I get bored really easily. This kind of thing just springs into my head."

"Right. I'd best get going. I only came to say…well, I don't even know why I came," Percy blushed, looking down at his lap. Audrey smiled back at him.

"Listen, if you're free any time soon, would you like to meet up for a drink?" she asked, looking at him fidget before her, "I can tell you about other wacky stories I've invented whilst lounging around this tiny little room, trying to avoid writing articles about…whether eating dragon skin really helps acne or if drinking gnome spit stops Dragonpox. And I'm rambling again…"

"No, no. I'd love to. Is Thursday okay?" Percy stuttered.

"Seven o'clock, Leaky Cauldron?" she replied, smiling, "I'll see you there, Mr Weasley."

"Percy," he corrected, "My name's Percy," Audrey nodded, and opened the door with her wand, "Have fun with that article," he added, pointing to the papers. She rolled her eyes at him and he laughed lightly, shutting the door behind him.

He walked back down the corridor, and down the stairs. He breezed past the grouchy woman, and out into Diagon Alley. He didn't know what he'd been so worried about. She wasn't a horrible hag like the other two, she was perfectly lovely, and quite funny. An image of Remus Lupin in a lacy nightie popped into his head and he couldn't help the chuckle that emerged from his mouth. Thursday was going to be a lot of fun.

A/N: This is the only other chapter I've typed up so far...I've got another one and a half chapters handwritten somewhere, so one day I'll get round to typing it up.

Thank you very much to the three reviewers on the last chapter. If anyone would like to boost that up a bit, feel free


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